Tax specialist Jumpstart is gearing for “significant expansion” after securing a £3.4 million investment from the Business Growth Fund (BGF).

Edinburgh-based Jumpstart, a specialist in research and development tax relief, said the investment will support UK growth plans through in-house sales, marketing and delivery functions as well as strengthening its management team.

BGF has taken a minority stake in Jumpstart and one of its senior investment managers, Patrick Graham, has also joined the board.

Jumpstart has also announced the appointments of Jim Faulds as chairman and David Evans as a non-executive director.

Faulds, who earlier in his career founded Faulds Group - which became the largest marketing services group outside London - is currently chairman of Change Recruitment and WRG Creative Communication.

Evans, former UK senior partner at accountancy firm, Mazars, has joined the board to assist Jumpstart in forming partnerships with UK-based accountancy firms.

Commenting on the BGF investment, Jumpstart managing director, Brian Williamson, said: “Jumpstart has enjoyed remarkable growth since it was formed with no bank support and little more than a good idea.

“In less than five years we have gone from two men in an attic flat to a five floor prime property in the heart of central Edinburgh occupied by almost 50 staff and with a further 50 used on a part-time basis.

“In large part of this growth is due to the service we offer to clients and the business culture we have created, as well as the diverse background of our management team.”

He added: “This investment from BGF will allow us to rapidly increase the recruitment of senior staff to cater for the increased demand from current and prospective clients.

“The BGF team have truly immersed themselves in our business and understand the crucial role R&D Tax Relief can have in expanding the UK economy.”

Patrick Graham, BGF’s senior investment manager, added: “We have been very impressed with what Jumpstart and the team has achieved to date.

“BGF was established to help growing UK businesses that need long-term capital to drive their future success, so it is especially rewarding to be investing in Jumpstart who share the same business ethos.

“The quality and integrity of service that it provides helps other companies to maximise their investment in R&D, making the UK more competitive internationally.

“With around 10,000 SMEs and 2,500 large companies currently claiming more than £1.1billion in R&D Tax Relief each year in the UK, we believe that there is a large opportunity for the business to grow. ”

Jumpstart was founded in 2008 by Stuart Wyse, Don Galloway and Richard Edwards who identified a gap in the market in advising companies through HMRC’s R&D Tax Relief application process.

They were joined in 2010 by entrepreneur Brian Williamson, the company’s current managing director, who invested in the business.

Last November Jumpstart agreed a new tax advisory partnership with the CharterGroup Accountancy Alliance of 54 member firms.

The deal followed on from a three-year alliance agreement with the Institute of Financial Accountants, a professional body boasting 6,000 members and students spanning more than 80 countries.

Last year Jumpstart also agreed three-year partnership deals with Peak Performance, one of the UK’s fastest-growing accountancy and taxation advisory networks and business development firm, RTC North.